Pregnancy Update: 26 Weeks

Happy Easter! I don't really have a post prepared specifically for the occasion, we're just headed to a potluck at a friend's house. So here's a pregnancy update instead, hope that's ok.

26 weeks already! Just a couple left until the third trimester.

Bump: I'm wearing a Stitch Fix dress that felt Easter appropriate. The cardigan is from Target.

1. How far along are you? 

26 weeks

2. How big is baby? 

A head of lettuce. He's supposed to range anywhere from 1.5-2.5 pounds still. I had a followup anatomy ultrasound this week and he's 80th percentile and estimated at 2 pounds 6 oz (though of course that's not super accurate). Still, I'm growing a good size little man. 

3. Total weight gain/loss

No updates yet - coming up at 28 weeks.

4. Purchases

This week I got Stitch Fix #2: that post is here.

5. Sleep

I woke up Friday with a sore throat/cough thing that I'm sure I caught from one of those darling kids I see in the urgent care that coughed in my face. That's been messing with my sleep a bit. Last night John left to sleep in the other bed because I was coughing so much.

6. Symptoms

As I said, the cold/cough this week is pretty rough. I've been moving my humidifier around and trying to just sit in the cloud, drinking lots of tea and taking the occasional Tylenol. Pregnancy-wise I'm honestly doing fine and I'm just grateful for that because this virus is no fun.

7. Rings on or off?

Still on.

8. Belly button in or out?

Stretching out more every day, but still in.

9. Food cravings/aversion

I am just eating fruit and sweet things all the time. Literally at least 6 servings of fruit a day and usually a dessert. Of course I'm also trying to get plenty of protein, eat vegetables etc. and I'm doing my gestational diabetes test next week but in the mean time there is fruit everywhere.

Fresh pineapple!

10. Fitness

This week I had wanted to make it to the gym at least twice and do the online hour-long yoga workout I had bookmarked. I was doing ok until the cold hit and I did get in the yoga and one trip to the gym. I skipped my yoga class yesterday because I just wasn't up for it, and I didn't want to expose all those other pregnant women to what I have. I'm hoping this improves fast - this is day 3 so far and I tell patients all the time that it can last 3 weeks, I'm just hoping this one doesn't.

11. Feelings and Mood

It was a busy week at work and I felt drained but I guess I had less time to be moody. Overall I felt okay - I just feel like I'm burning out really quickly and counting down the days. There's only 3 months until the end of residency, and only about 4 weeks until I have research and reading blocks that are a little more self-directed. I just feel like I'm ready to move on to the next chapter of my life and these last few months are passing so slowly.

12. Pregnancy Perks

In my whole pregnancy my local Smith's (Kroger, Fred Meyer equivalent) is the only store I've been to that has a pregnant lady parking spot, but I just started using it and it really is kind of nice. 

13. Best moment this week

As I mentioned above I had a follow up anatomy ultrasound. There isn't anything wrong - he was just too squirmy to get a good view of the arches of the heart at the last one. So this week we got to spend almost an hour and a half looking at him on the ultrasound and even got to see part of his face on the 3D ultrasound. He looks like a human! He's even kind of cute. We also had a funny moment with the ultrasound tech when she first started because she hadn't looked at how far along I was and thought we were doing a first trimester screening. She set the ultrasound probe on my belly and it practically bounced off she was so startled by the size of my baby. There's definitely a big difference between 12 and 26 weeks. It reminded me how far we've already come.

Thanks for reading, see you soon.

Friday Faves 3/25/16

Happy Friday! Time for some favorites.

1. Things My Sisters Say: 100% accurate.

2. Music: I heard this song today at the gym and loved it. Big Gigantic feat Angela McCluskey: The Little Things.

3. Snack or Meal: We made a pasta primavera for dinner last week and this was my leftover lunch portion. The recipe is from Appetite for Reduction.

4. Lifestyle and Beauty: I bought a sports bra at Victoria's Secret last week and they were having a special on their body care line - 4 for free with the purchase of a sports bra, 1 of each of their "system." I chose the scent Shea and got a scrub wash, cream body wash, lotion and body oil.

I'm not going to claim this does any dermatological magic - I haven't been using it long enough - but my skin feels awesome and smells even better.

5. Recipe: I'm bookmarking this one for next week - Cuban Black Bean and Cilantro Lime Rice Bowls with Baked Plantains from The Full Helping (formerly Choosing Raw).

[Photo is hers]

Happy weekend!

Thanks for reading, see you soon.

Stitch Fix Maternity Review #2

My next Stitch Fix arrived this weekend and I'm very excited to share it with you.

You can read my first Stitch Fix post for an overview of how it works. 

In short: I get 5 items chosen based on my personal style, I get to try them on with my current wardrobe, keep the ones I love and send back the others. 

I asked for a "light or bright spring dress" in this fix, and I had given some feedback about my first one, but didn't ask for anything else very specific. 

My stylist was Natalie and I thought she did a great job. 

So here we go:

1. Alma Beaded Pre-Layered Necklace from Bay to Baubles

I was really excited to get a necklace with my fix - I wouldn't say jewelry is really a priority for me but I'm looking to build that part of my wardrobe a little. I forgot to get a really good closeup, but you can see it here in the photo with all the items, and I'm wearing it in most of the other photos (just not the ones with the jacket). 

It has 2 strands and a pretty built-in layered look, but I just didn't think the gold was quite right with my tones - it was a little yellow. I'm sure if it had looked awesome on me I would have considered it, but I'm also not really looking for more delicate necklaces as that's most of what I already have. 

Status: Returned

2. Anjuli Dark Wash Denim Jacket from Just USA

This is a perfectly nice denim jacket, I just don't have a use for one. It doesn't feel like me - I don't like the feeling of the collar around my neck and it's stiffer fabric than I like to wear on my top half. I also didn't like the fading and pre-distressed areas - they just looked a little odd and made it a little too casual.

I'm wearing it here with a Prana dress from REI I bought about a year ago. It's not maternity but still fits the bump well. 

Status: Returned

3. Gabre Maternity Dress from Eight Sixty

I didn't know exactly what I wanted when I asked for a "bright or light spring dress" but this was it! This is the perfect color, the fabric feels thick and super soft and I could wear it to multiple occasions including work. 

Status: Keep!

4. Medford Shortsleeve Maternity Knit Top from Loveappella Maternity

I'm wearing this with my dark Motherhood Maternity jeans. The fabric and fit of this shirt were great. If I hadn't liked other pieces in this fix so much, or had unlimited funds, I probably would've kept it. It's simple enough and similar to other things I already own though so I decided to send it back. 

Status: Returned

5. Carlita Jersey Maternity Maxi Dress from Loveappella

I don't own any maxi dresses. Most of the time when I've tried them in the past I've thought they looked terrible, and I had a hard time finding one that fit my frame - I'm 5'4" so not super short but they were always too long. 

This one though, is perfect. It has a nice nursing-compatible cross-front neckline, it's super soft, and I don't even have to wear heels to keep it off the ground. I love the pattern and it's not like anything I already have, so I was really excited to keep this one.

Status: Keep!

Cost:

Alma Beaded Pre-Layered Necklace from Bay to Baubles: $28

Anjuli Dark Wash Denim Jacket from Just USA: $58

Gabre Maternity Dress from Eight Sixty: $88

Medford Shortsleeve Maternity Knit Top from Loveappella Maternity: $48

Carlita Jersey Maternity Maxi Dress from Loveappella: $78

Total cost for items kept: $166 (minus $20 already paid for styling) = $146

I'm so happy with the dresses that were picked for me in this fix I requested Natalie style my next fix as well. I'm not sure yet which specific types of items I'm going to ask for - as the weather changes to be warmer I'm waiting to see what I still need.

If you want to try it, you can check out Stitch Fix here for more information. If you decide to sign up, using my referral code [which is the above link] helps me out with some site credit which of course I appreciate, but you don't need a referral code to sign up.

Which item is your favorite? 

Bump status in these photos: 25 weeks.

Thanks for reading, see you soon.

Week in Review: Vacation

I'm participating this week in a weekly linkup over on Clean Eats, Fast Feets called Week in Review (the blog's author is pregnant too!) It's basically a chance to share a list of accomplishments or activities from the week.

Since I was on vacation until this morning, I accomplished a lot this week, both fun and productive.

First of all, here's where I kept track of it all in my Journal J Planner. 

There were 2 categories - things that were more productive or that I really needed to get done, and things that were just for fun.

For the sake of this list though, I'm just going to mix the categories together and there's no particular order, so here it is: 

Week in Review

1. Bought groceries (x2 - and make a meal plan for dinners)

2. Laundry (including whites, with bleach)

3. Caught up on work paperwork

4. Mailed contract and other documents to my future place of employment

5. Uploaded the following items for licensing to the Oregon Medical Board

  - Photo

  - Birth certificate

  - Marriage certificate

  - USMLE transcript request

  - Med school diploma

  - Medical school verification (request sent to my school)

  - NPDB

  - MPA/DEA open-book exams

6. Made juice

7. Caught up on almost all my TV shows

8. Paint nails

9. Got a massage

10. Got a haircut

11. Wrote 6 blog posts

12. Cleaned out the fridge

13. Cleaned desk

14. Replaced the ink in the printer

15. Cleaned up my Google Drive

16. Finished latest Integrative Medicine module

17. Wished my sister a Happy Birthday (and bought a present)

18. Cleaned fish tank

19. Worked on research project

20. Visited a friend in the hospital after the birth of her baby

21. Shopped for a sports bra

22. Took Luna around the golf course and to the park. 

23. Walked to Nob Hill with John

24. Watched the Bachelor finale

25. Went to Bible Study

26. Exercise: Gym x3, yoga class, yoga/body weight exercises at home x3

So for a staycation, I tried to keep myself busy.

Here are some photos from the week:

Luna

The not-quite-tree in front of our house is blooming!

Vegan Homemade Pad Thai: lunch I made on Tuesday

From our Nob Hill walk.

Golf Course

Now it's time to return to work and while I wouldn't mind a little more time, at least I can look back on the week and know I made the most of it. 

Don't forget to head over to Clean Eats, Fast Feets to check out the other blogs that are participating.

Thanks for reading, see you soon.

Happy Birthday Shannon!

Just a quick post to wish my sister happy birthday!

Here's a throwback to Fall 2012 when we got to live together again for a whole month!

I love you and I can't believe how old and accomplished you are.

Just kidding about the old. That would make me old plus 2.5 so I'm pretty sure in my mind you'll never be old. Ever. 

Love you.

Pregnancy Update: 25 Weeks

I have to apologize for the weird things happening with my font colors in this post. Hoping to fix it by next week.

Hard to believe we're already a whole week into month 6. I feel pregnant, but kind of barely so it's really strange to think how long it's already been and having just 3.5 short months left until my due date.

Bump: In these photos I'm wearing a Prana dress from REI that I bought for my rotation in South America about a year ago. It's not maternity wear, but it styles nicely over the bump and is still really comfortable. 

1. How far along are you?

25 weeks.

2. How big is the baby?

A head of cauliflower or a napa cabbage. [1.5-2.5 pounds]. 

3. Total weight gain/loss

No new updates, I was up 9 pounds at my 24 week appointment and my next weight will be at 28 weeks.

4. Purchases

My Old Navy clothes arrived this week. I reviewed them in this post. I also bought this sports bra from Victoria's Secret: Incredible by Victorias Secret Front-close Sport Bra. 

It's so comfortable and I feel like I can do anything in it.

5. Sleep

Sleep has been hit or miss this week. I still woke up for an hour or three several times with allergy symptoms, and one day I woke up around 2:30 and just never went back to sleep. I still feel relatively well-rested though, maybe because it was a vacation week, but I guess it wasn't a big deal that I wasn't sleeping well. Hopefully this week will be better. I'll be back at work so I'll probably be that much more tired when I go to bed at night and that usually helps.

6. Symptoms

I'm actually feeling fine except for my ongoing seasonal allergies. People say second trimester is the best and not having done the third trimester yet I can't comment, but I can see how that might be. 

7. Rings on or off? Still on.

8. Belly button in or out? It's stretched a little, but not really turning out yet.

9. Food cravings/aversions

I find the power of suggestion is very strong, and last week with my baby being the size of cantaloupe, I just really wanted some melon. I thought it was kind of early for them, but I found some in my supermarket, chopped it up and put it in the fridge so it would be nice and cold and it was like candy. Perfect with some spicy leftover Thai curry.

I think I'm through the aversions stage - I mean I always hate the smell of meat or cheese counters but that's from before pregnancy.

10. Fitness

This week I went a couple times to gym, took a few miles around the golf course near our house with Luna, did yoga on days I didn't go to the gym, went to my yoga class, and also did my regular walk with Luna at least twice a day, so it was probably my highest exercise week in ages. I mean if I get in 10 minutes of something most days while I'm working that's great so it was really nice to be on vacation and have time to focus a little on my fitness. I don't think it's realistic to set goals to extend from now until the end of pregnancy because my body is changing dramatically. 

For next week I'll just say I'd like to go to the gym at least twice and there's a online prenatal vinyasa flow I've saved that I haven't done yet, so I'd like to do that and shorter routines on the other days. 

11. Feelings and Mood

I was a lot moodier and more tearful this week. I mean, it was vacation so I felt like I should just be happy, and falling into the "should" trap of how I ought to feel certainly didn't help. At the beginning of the week I had a lot of time ahead of me and a very long list of things I wanted to tackle (both fun and productive) and I was feeling pretty good. Then starting Wednesday afternoon I just started to feel overwhelmed by the things I "should" be doing. Then I had this frustrating post office experience and I ended up crying in front of the lady at the post office. She shouldn't have been rude. I will stain your counter with tears - don't think I won't. I don't think it was really about the little frustrations happening, they were just the triggers. It was more about bigger questions, like how to best fill free time to feel relaxed but also satisfied and happy. It was definitely the first time I felt the pregnancy hormones people talk about. 

12. Pregnancy Perks

A new section on the updates, I'm hoping to be able to report something I'm enjoying about being pregnant each week.

I have to preface this by saying that I used to get asked at least once every 2 weeks by a parent or patient how old I am (with the incredulous tone that I'm probably not old enough to be their doctor). I'm not upset about that - it's nice to look young I guess. However, ever since I've started being visibly pregnant, people have stopped asking. It's as though a baby bump gives me enough authority that they no longer feel the need to ask me if I'm 18 years old. 

13. Best moment this week

John got me a prenatal massage for Christmas at Betty's Bath and Day Spa. I went to get it this week and it was amazing. My therapist's name was Erin and it was seriously one of the best massages I've ever had. I also just loved being able to lie on my stomach on the cutout table - I used to be so comfortable on my stomach in my pre-pregnancy life and I really missed it. I'm already angling for another one when we get to the third trimester. 

Now I'm just trying to make sure I feel prepared for another week of work - just a couple more things to do today.

Thanks for reading, see you soon.

Friday Faves 3/18/16

Happy Friday! Time for some favorites.

1. Things My Sisters Say: It was pi day on Monday and Shannon's a huge nerd. How many numbers do you have memorized these days Shannon?

All I wanted was actual pie.

2. Music: I heard Sara Hartman's new song Two Feet Off the Ground this week and really loved it. Here's another one of her's: Monster Lead Me Home

3. Snack or Meal: Yogurt Bowls. I found a big container of vanilla soy yogurt at Sprouts that wasn't absurdly expensive, so I got some bulk bin granola and I've been tossing it with fresh or frozen fruit. For a way throwback post (like my first 3 months of blogging) of yogurt bowl inspiration, check out this one.

This one had plum and strawberry.

4. Lifestyle and Beauty: In just the past few months I've started actually doing my eyebrows. I have fairly full, dark eyebrows naturally, but sometimes they need a little extra fill, so I can't say enough about this:

Tarte Amazonian Clay Volumizing Brow & Hair Powder

It's not very precise, so for just filling in little hairs I use an Anastasia pencil, but most of the time I just want to fill in the volume. Obviously I've used it a lot since the pattern is disappearing.

I use the color black brown and the Real Techniques brow brush.

Now who wants to see a disturbingly closeup picture of my face?

Before:

After (plus the rest of my makeup):

5. Recipe: I've been watching lots of pregnancy vlogs and I ran across this girl's channel: Sarah Therese. She just had a baby a little while ago. She does a lot of makeup/skincare reviews as well and I liked this video on smoothie recipes:

Happy weekend!

Thanks for reading, see you soon.

Old Navy Maternity Activewear Review

In my 24 week pregnancy update I talked about the hilarious fit of all my pre-pregnancy activewear and how I had ordered a few things from Old Navy. Now that they've arrived, I wanted to do a little review, with pictures!

This is not a sponsored post, I'm just a pregnant lady who needed some athletic clothes.

Let's get into it:

Maternity Shelf-Bra Mesh Tank: When I first put this on I wasn't sure I liked it. It's hard to tell from the photo, but the front of the tank cuts in on the sides a little more than most and the mesh is a little stiff. That said, as you move everything stays well-covered and I like that the built-in bra has some padding. For lower impact workouts it would definitely be enough without extra support.

Plenty of room for the belly.

Luna wanted in on the action too.

Maternity Go-Dry Tank in Island Tide: This one has plenty of room to grow and I love the color. I got it in medium and it's a little loose, but I'd rather that than tight especially since I have so far to go. 

Maternity Fold-Over Waistband Yoga Shorts: These are the shorts I'm wearing in all these photos. They're a foldover waist and worn under the bump. They're super comfortable with a little bit of stretch and longer than I thought they would be from the photos online. I got them in small which is the perfect size.

Maternity Racerback Bralette in Black: I didn't take any pictures of this one as it wasn't really up to the level of modesty I prefer to maintain here. You can see it on the website though, I think it'll be great for sleep and around the house. It's not super supportive but it's really comfortable.

Maternity Dance Tee in Mini Mint: I took this one on a walk already today and it was really nice and breezy. It's very loose fitting and I'm pretty sure a small would be plenty of room at this stage, but this is a medium and I think I'm going to be glad of the extra space come June when I'm full term and sweating. I also think the back cutout is really nice. 

So to summarize, I'm keeping all of it. 

Do you have a favorite piece of maternity-friendly activewear? Let me know!

Thanks for reading, see you soon.